Singapore public holidays: 7 long weekends expected in 2017

SINGAPORE — There will be at least seven long weekends next year, according to a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) release on Tuesday (April 5) that shows a number of public holidays falling either on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday .

The seven long weekends for 2017 are high by usual standards, though still one short of the record eight seen in 2009. There are six long weekends this year (2016), compared to seven in 2015 and four in 2014.

New Year’s Day in 2017 will fall on a Sunday meaning that the following Monday will be a designated public holiday. Meanwhile, Chinese New Year will be on Jan 28 and Jan 29 (a Saturday and Sunday).

Other public holidays that will result in long weekends include Good Friday (April 14), Labour Day (May 1, Monday), Hari Raya Puasa (June 25, Sunday), Hari Raya Haji (Sept 1, Friday), and Christmas (Dec 25, Monday).

Under the Employment Act, if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, an employee who is not required to work on a Saturday is entitled to another day off or an extra day’s salary in lieu of that public holiday, said the MOM.

In its statement, the ministry added that employees are entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay if he/she is required to work on a public holiday. Alternatively, the employer and employee may mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.

An employer also has the additional option of granting managers or executives, earning up to a basic monthly salary of $4,500, time-off-in-lieu for working on a public holiday. The time off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours, said the MOM.